Snare drums and the sound

[cabalumnidrummer]

And if you haven't gotten your fill of real snare drum sound from Sky's 12"x 15" beauties on Saturday afternoon, the Cabs Alumni drum section is planning a late-evening rehearsal on Saturday night. We're hoping to start at about 10:30 or 11 p.m. after prelims behind the Rochester Plaza Hotel. on the river overlook. There too you'll get a lot closer than at the Alumni Spectacular on Sunday!

[Quadman1]

As I opined back in '04...

"Crank snares to the top" says the theorem.

"The hardware won't 'pop' so don't fear them."

But hands and wrists blight from 'Formica-hard' tight,

And only a bat's ears can hear 'em!

"They're 'tenors'" we say of our quads.

To call them that, though, is at odds.

To designate right, their multi-heads tight,

Say "Four toneless bongos"... ye gods!

"Traditionally" (said to our faces)

"The big drums are what were called 'basses.'"

They're now cranked terrific, way up stratospheric,

Too high! Throw 'em back in their cases.

And speaking of sections expensive,

(now don't anyone get defensive)

"More tymps, bells and 'toys'! We MUST have more noise!"

The Pit swallows money... extensive!

This is pure genius! Agree 100%.

[CANDRUMMER]

For those of us "older" members of the drummers fraternity .Remember when LUDWIG and SLINGERLAND produced those lovely STEEL wrapped drums!!!! I think LUDWIGS was called "CHROME O WOOD "

You were in all reality playing AND carrying TWO drums as they were wood shells wrapped in stainless STEEL and we used SLINGS back then as well!!!!!

The thought was I recall "you get the warmth of wood with the crispness of a metal shell" I bet old Bill Ludwig R.I.P. never carried one of those drums on a 4 mile parade!!!!!

I found that the LUDWIG "Challenger" was lighter than S-LANDS "TDR" even with just a wood shell. The TDR seemed to have heavier hardware.

Edited August 15, 2010 by CANDRUMMER

[cabalumnidrummer]

Among the several drums that I own, my 'pride and joy' is a 12-lug 12" x 15" Ludwig Chrome-o-Wood. It was a gift from my wife for my 30th birthday in 1978. I had admired it several times as the floor model on display in Hugo Evarelli's music store in Hackensack, NJ. To this day, it looks and sounds great.

It is a very heavy drum, I can tell you that for sure. I usually play it on a stand and use it when I teach. I have used it in only about two or three parades because of its weight (and my bad back and advancing age!). The metal-shell Ludwigs that we use in the Cabs Alumni are considerably lighter. Some are Challenger models with the Ludwig 'Classic' throw-off, and some are Super-Sensitive models. They both sound equally as good as the Chrome-o-Wood, IMO.

In my final year with the Cabs competing corps (1973) we had Slingerland TDR's in black, red, white and silver. Those drums were not only beautiful but also had a great sound, and were also quite heavy. The Challenger II and the Slingerland TDR are two of the finest drums I have used, again IMO.

[pearlsnaredrummer77]

Among the several drums that I own, my 'pride and joy' is a 12-lug 12" x 15" Ludwig Chrome-o-Wood. It was a gift from my wife for my 30th birthday in 1978. I had admired it several times as the floor model on display in Hugo Evarelli's music store in Hackensack, NJ. To this day, it looks and sounds great.

It is a very heavy drum, I can tell you that for sure. I usually play it on a stand and use it when I teach. I have used it in only about two or three parades because of its weight (and my bad back and advancing age!). The metal-shell Ludwigs that we use in the Cabs Alumni are considerably lighter. Some are Challenger models with the Ludwig 'Classic' throw-off, and some are Super-Sensitive models. They both sound equally as good as the Chrome-o-Wood, IMO.

In my final year with the Cabs competing corps (1973) we had Slingerland TDR's in black, red, white and silver. Those drums were not only beautiful but also had a great sound, and were also quite heavy. The Challenger II and the Slingerland TDR are two of the finest drums I have used, again IMO.

I have a 15 inch TDR red: think 27th Lancers circa 81. I acutally just like to look at it-those drums were beauties. I played on a chrome 15inch TDR in 1983. Funny thing is that I thought it was light weight at the time. Two things made me think it was light. One, I was 19. Two, we used the xl carriers that held the drum off the strap holder. So the drum was so close to your body, you actually didn't feel the weight. Perfect position for matched grip lines, but I suppose the Jhook is better for traditional.

Edited August 16, 2010 by pearlsnaredrummer77

[mgarside83]

Being a member of the Cabs in 2003 and 2009, I will give props to the Alumni snare line. Those guys have serious chops. Seeing the Cabs alumni is like going back in time. One of the best, if not the best, alumni corps I've ever seen. If you want to hear what a drumline sounded like in the 70's, you gotta see these guys. Authentic instruments, authentic writing, style and technique. Very good execution on top of that. Very cool to see and hear.

[SFZFAN]

I have a maple (custom) Yamaha SFZ 12x14 and an old Ludwig Challenger 12x14 12 lugger. I have to admit I like the sound of the old Ludwig better. I am using Ludwig mylar marching heads on it. Still playing with the Yamaha and it's getting better. I may take off th White Max and ty a mylar head on it as well.

[cabalumnidrummer]

mgarside83 said:

Being a member of the Cabs in 2003 and 2009, I will give props to the Alumni snare line. Those guys have serious chops. Seeing the Cabs alumni is like going back in time. One of the best, if not the best, alumni corps I've ever seen. If you want to hear what a drumline sounded like in the 70's, you gotta see these guys. Authentic instruments, authentic writing, style and technique. Very good execution on top of that. Very cool to see and hear.

Thank you for the kind words!

[HornsUp]

Al LeMert, after working for Ludwig for a ½ dozen years in R&D, confided to me "I've never been able to engineer a Ludwig drum that sounds as good as the Rogers Dynasonic".

[Jim Nevermann]

I'm of the opinion that we are in need of some better drum head technology that blends the best of mylar and kevlar.

To me, just as importantly, marching drums that aren't so absurdly heavy. With lighter weight drums, the need for drum stands could be reduced or even eliminated... which would also negate their cost, maintenance, storage and transport.

Of course, the companies that make stands would prefer the status quo.

Edited August 18, 2010 by Jim Nevermann